Major U.S. City Begs People to Not Kill Each Other This Weekend

Chicago gets a lot of press for its out-of-control shootings and other acts of violence among its populace. But the city of Baltimore, Maryland with its population of over 600,000 has already seen 48 homicides this year, according to NBC News. The city saw 344 murders in 2016, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Shockingly, Baltimore has the 19th highest murder rate for any city in the world, according to World Atlas, making it the second highest in the U.S. St. Louis, Missouri is 15th in the world. That’s why a group of activists has been promoting “Nobody Kill Anybody” weekend with the hopes of having zero murders by this Monday.

Police and city government officials decided they wanted to get onboard with the effort, but the activists flatly told them “no,” claiming that the people of Baltimore don’t trust the police. She didn’t explain exactly, though, how law enforcement’s support of “Nobody Kill Anybody” weekend would result in more people trying to murder each other.

"You don't have to be woke very long in America, especially if you're a person of color, to notice that there are certain parts of the city that get resources that yours don't," effort organizer Erricka Bridgeford claimed.

The Daily Caller pointed out, though, that 60% of the police force is made up with minorities, including more than half of its leadership. Bridgeford says she’s actually gotten gang leaders calling her to pledge no violence for the weekend.

She explained, "We don't think this is a cure. We don’t think this will even necessarily stop violence that weekend, but we know that some people have made promises that they won't, and that just might save somebody’s life."

T. J. Smith, spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, which came under scrutiny by the Department of Justice for corruption, made it clear that “At the end of the day we all want the same thing. We want officers to do what they’re expected to do, and the community wants officers to do what they’re expected to do. But we also all want people to stop harming each other, especially with guns.”

What do you think of this? In other news, a Democratic representative and mayoral candidate is proposing that police officers start leaving their guns in their cars instead of carrying them.